Danilov: Ukraine capable of regaining east of Ukraine by force, fighting for Crimea

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, says the Ukrainian Army is capable of liberating the occupied east of Ukraine by military means and go for hostilities to regain Crimea, while the Ukrainian government is not yet going to take such a step.

The statement came during Danilov’s interview with Radio Svoboda, Ukrinform reports.

“Our Armed Forces are capable of purging the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. We can fight for the territory of Crimea. But we must keep in mind that we can’t allow tens, hundreds of thousands of people dying in such military missions. That’s because we just have an understanding of where that limit is. But this doesn’t mean that we won’t do this if required,” Danilov said.

The security official has explained that the NSDC has so far approved five scenarios for the developments in Crimea and Donbas. So far, Ukraine adheres to the first one: it is trying to regain own territories through political and diplomatic means.

“Next we’ll see what happens,” said the official.

He added that Russia is currently failing to fulfill any agreements, including those adopted in Paris in 2019 on the opening of crossing checkpoints.

As Ukrinform earlier reported, the SBU recorded a mass illegal issue to Ukrainian citizens in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Russian passports, organized by the occupation authorities to ensure higher voter turnout in September elections to the Russian State Duma.

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